India has different climate and topography in different parts and hence is termed as a mega diversity country. India occupies 10th place among plant rich countries of the world.
- It is essential to acquire knowledge about the distribution and environmental
- interaction of flora and fauna of India. Biogeographers have classified India into ten bio-geographic zones with each zone
- having characteristic climate, soil and biodiversity
These zones are described below:
1. The cold mountainous snow covered Trans Himalayan region of Ladakh.
2. The Himalayan ranges and valleys of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam and other North Eastern States.
3. The Terai, the lowland where the Himalayan rivers flow into the plains.
4. The Gangetic and Bhramaputra plains.
5. The Thar Desert of Rajasthan.
6. The semi arid grassland region of the Deccan plateau Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
7. The Northeast States of India,
8. The Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.
9. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
10. The long western and eastern coastal belt with sandy beaches, forests and mangroves.
FUNCTIONS OF BIODIVERSITY: Two main functions of biodiversity are
1. It is the source on which the entire human species depends on for food, fibre, shelter, fuel and medicine.
2. It depends on biosphere which in turn leads to stability in climate, water, soil, air and overall health of biosphere.
